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INTERVIEW WITH GUEST AUTHOR
BRUCE PERRIN |
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Q: Tell us something about yourself?
A: Like many indie authors, writing is my second career. My first was psychological research and development, which probably sounds boring to many of you. You probably think it’s a life of measuring minute details, analyzing those numbers to death, and then writing a dry paper that no one outside your field would ever read. If you thought that...you’d be mostly right.
But there is a bit more, and that bit is creative problem solving. The problem you face in R&D is to take those numbers you have analyzed to death and answer the question, what is the simplest, most straightforward explanation that accounts for all of the observations. Newton couldn’t have said that the apple fell from the tree because apples are attracted to the ground, because oranges fall too. Nor could he say that apples were repelled by the sun and hit the earth in their haste to escape, because they fall at night too. No, in the end, gravity was the simplest explanation that fit all of his data. (At least until Einstein provided counter examples.)
What I learned about myself in career #1 is that I love that bit of R&D that is creative problem solving. And now, I seek the same in writing...with one major difference. Rather than looking for the simplest, most straightforward explanation, I look for outcomes that are possible, given the interplay of fictitious personalities, fabricated situations, and slightly futuristic science, but ones are unexpected, surprising, and a bit hair-raising. To me, there is a real sense of accomplishment in finding that one path that will stimulate readers’ minds and capture their imagination, but without bending the rules of credibility until they break.
Q: How long have you been writing and how long have you been publishing?
A: I’ve been writing for a bit more than 25 years. If you check my Amazon Author Page (http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J1KKTZ6), you’ll see that one of my books was published in 1988. But at $100 a copy, it should be clear that it is a specialized, technical publication rather than something you’d pick up to read on vacation. (Of course, if you have a $100 burning a hole in your pocket and need something to put you to sleep while on vacation, I can highly recommend it.)
My foray into writing and publishing novels for general consumption is much more recent, starting with Half A Mind. It was published in September 2015, so I am still in my first year of writing and self-publishing.
Q: Do you think your years of technical writing help you with your writing now?
A: Good question. I think it's probably helped quite a bit, but I also recognize that it left some gaping holes. I would guess it took me 20 seconds to find the quotation marks on my keyboard the first time I tried my hand at dialog. Who ever heard of dialog in a technical paper? And I am still working on typing, “Dunno”, rather than, “I do not know”, or worse yet, “The data are insufficient for drawing a conclusion with certainty.” So, overall, what did I learn from the years of technical writing that applies now? The data are insufficient...dunno.
Q; What’s the hardest part of writing for you? What’s the easiest part?
A: You know how it is when you say something is easy, especially when it’s in black and white – the next time you try it, it’ll be impossible. But I’m going to tempt fate anyway.
For me, the easiest part of writing is...writing. I am still wondering what writer’s block is. True, I haven’t been doing this long, so maybe things will change. But currently, what I have is typist’s block – my fingers cannot keep up with my mind. I probably write twenty books in my head for each one that gets to paper.
The hardest part of writing is everything else, which is a lot of stuff: dealing with the grind of final editing and proofing when the creative work is done; finding and overcoming the quirks of eBook publishing applications; jumping through the book submission hoops of the various sellers; generating reviews and then absorbing the bad along with the good; and marketing when the relationship between cost and benefit is anything but clear. I’d love to hand off all of that. Maybe then, I could get two of those twenty books on paper.
Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
A: Both. I believe it was the German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke who said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” So, I start with an overall plan, but I never expect it to last past the first skirmish with my characters and my imagination.
But even before the plan, I start with a general concept. For my first book, for example, the concept came from a misunderstanding. A friend had recommended a book to me, saying, “You’ll like it. It’s about brain plasticity gone wrong.” (If you are not familiar with plasticity, it is the adjustment the brain makes to replace a function, such as the ability to speak, when it is lost due to injury.) I read the book, and it was not really about plasticity. I think it was mentioned once. However, the recommendation had started me wondering, what could go wrong with a natural process like brain plasticity? If it did go wrong, how would it happen and what would it be like? That was the kernel for Half A Mind.
After I have a concept, I develop an overall plot flow that lists possible sections and the main activities within them. Each section is represented by about 4 to 10 phrases, and usually, they are not even complete sentences. Then, as writing occurs, these sections take on a life of their own. Sometimes, the personalities of my characters drive me to places I had not expected. Other times, I’ll see an option for a twist I had not considered. There is, at this point, a bit of seat-of-the-pants writing. By the end, however, I generally arrive at the planned destination – the original concept behind the story – but the path there can be an interesting ride.
Q: What project(s) are you working on at the present time?
A: I’m currently working on the third book in the Mind Sleuth Series.
The first two books are what I would call science thrillers. That’s science thriller, rather than science fiction thriller. To me anyway, science fiction involves futuristic technology that may or may not have roots in actual science. A science thriller, on the other hand, weaves a fictional account of what might occur given current technology and research. I like both genres, but sometimes I find it difficult to become emotionally invested in science fiction when the story seems to have the same likelihood as flying pigs. Neither of my first two books requires improbable or even significant extensions in science to occur. That’s what makes them creepy to many readers. We already know enough to make some really bad things happen.
My current project, Retroscape of a Future Mind, is – as you might guess – more futuristic, as it takes a look back from the year 2065. The technology it depicts in that timeframe, however, still has its roots in current research. It is basically a look at one possible path in the evolution of our world where technology has had a much more insidious influence on humanity than we might hope. Yes, in the future, we learn even more ways to make bad things happen.
Q: What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has? Write it out here, then answer it.
A: The question: Do you mind if my book review group with 500 members reads your book? And by the way, we all love writing glowing reviews of everything we read. My answer: I guess that would be OK.
Actually, I did have someone post on FaceBook that she was going to recommend my book to her reading group – number of members not indicated – but nothing ever happened as far as I could tell. So, all you folks who coordinate reading groups, my email inbox is always open.
Q: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
A: All of the most recent information on the status of my writing, my book reviews, and the synopses of my current and upcoming books are located on my blog.
Blog: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010685952979
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J1KKTZ6
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14422947.Bruce_M_Perrin
Book Links
Half A Mind: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/p/half-mind-dark-scientific-thriller_25.html
Mind in the Clouds: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/p/a-suspenseful-whodunit-where-not-all.html
Retroscape of a Future Mind: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/p/retroscape-of-future-mind.html
A: Like many indie authors, writing is my second career. My first was psychological research and development, which probably sounds boring to many of you. You probably think it’s a life of measuring minute details, analyzing those numbers to death, and then writing a dry paper that no one outside your field would ever read. If you thought that...you’d be mostly right.
But there is a bit more, and that bit is creative problem solving. The problem you face in R&D is to take those numbers you have analyzed to death and answer the question, what is the simplest, most straightforward explanation that accounts for all of the observations. Newton couldn’t have said that the apple fell from the tree because apples are attracted to the ground, because oranges fall too. Nor could he say that apples were repelled by the sun and hit the earth in their haste to escape, because they fall at night too. No, in the end, gravity was the simplest explanation that fit all of his data. (At least until Einstein provided counter examples.)
What I learned about myself in career #1 is that I love that bit of R&D that is creative problem solving. And now, I seek the same in writing...with one major difference. Rather than looking for the simplest, most straightforward explanation, I look for outcomes that are possible, given the interplay of fictitious personalities, fabricated situations, and slightly futuristic science, but ones are unexpected, surprising, and a bit hair-raising. To me, there is a real sense of accomplishment in finding that one path that will stimulate readers’ minds and capture their imagination, but without bending the rules of credibility until they break.
Q: How long have you been writing and how long have you been publishing?
A: I’ve been writing for a bit more than 25 years. If you check my Amazon Author Page (http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J1KKTZ6), you’ll see that one of my books was published in 1988. But at $100 a copy, it should be clear that it is a specialized, technical publication rather than something you’d pick up to read on vacation. (Of course, if you have a $100 burning a hole in your pocket and need something to put you to sleep while on vacation, I can highly recommend it.)
My foray into writing and publishing novels for general consumption is much more recent, starting with Half A Mind. It was published in September 2015, so I am still in my first year of writing and self-publishing.
Q: Do you think your years of technical writing help you with your writing now?
A: Good question. I think it's probably helped quite a bit, but I also recognize that it left some gaping holes. I would guess it took me 20 seconds to find the quotation marks on my keyboard the first time I tried my hand at dialog. Who ever heard of dialog in a technical paper? And I am still working on typing, “Dunno”, rather than, “I do not know”, or worse yet, “The data are insufficient for drawing a conclusion with certainty.” So, overall, what did I learn from the years of technical writing that applies now? The data are insufficient...dunno.
Q; What’s the hardest part of writing for you? What’s the easiest part?
A: You know how it is when you say something is easy, especially when it’s in black and white – the next time you try it, it’ll be impossible. But I’m going to tempt fate anyway.
For me, the easiest part of writing is...writing. I am still wondering what writer’s block is. True, I haven’t been doing this long, so maybe things will change. But currently, what I have is typist’s block – my fingers cannot keep up with my mind. I probably write twenty books in my head for each one that gets to paper.
The hardest part of writing is everything else, which is a lot of stuff: dealing with the grind of final editing and proofing when the creative work is done; finding and overcoming the quirks of eBook publishing applications; jumping through the book submission hoops of the various sellers; generating reviews and then absorbing the bad along with the good; and marketing when the relationship between cost and benefit is anything but clear. I’d love to hand off all of that. Maybe then, I could get two of those twenty books on paper.
Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
A: Both. I believe it was the German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke who said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” So, I start with an overall plan, but I never expect it to last past the first skirmish with my characters and my imagination.
But even before the plan, I start with a general concept. For my first book, for example, the concept came from a misunderstanding. A friend had recommended a book to me, saying, “You’ll like it. It’s about brain plasticity gone wrong.” (If you are not familiar with plasticity, it is the adjustment the brain makes to replace a function, such as the ability to speak, when it is lost due to injury.) I read the book, and it was not really about plasticity. I think it was mentioned once. However, the recommendation had started me wondering, what could go wrong with a natural process like brain plasticity? If it did go wrong, how would it happen and what would it be like? That was the kernel for Half A Mind.
After I have a concept, I develop an overall plot flow that lists possible sections and the main activities within them. Each section is represented by about 4 to 10 phrases, and usually, they are not even complete sentences. Then, as writing occurs, these sections take on a life of their own. Sometimes, the personalities of my characters drive me to places I had not expected. Other times, I’ll see an option for a twist I had not considered. There is, at this point, a bit of seat-of-the-pants writing. By the end, however, I generally arrive at the planned destination – the original concept behind the story – but the path there can be an interesting ride.
Q: What project(s) are you working on at the present time?
A: I’m currently working on the third book in the Mind Sleuth Series.
The first two books are what I would call science thrillers. That’s science thriller, rather than science fiction thriller. To me anyway, science fiction involves futuristic technology that may or may not have roots in actual science. A science thriller, on the other hand, weaves a fictional account of what might occur given current technology and research. I like both genres, but sometimes I find it difficult to become emotionally invested in science fiction when the story seems to have the same likelihood as flying pigs. Neither of my first two books requires improbable or even significant extensions in science to occur. That’s what makes them creepy to many readers. We already know enough to make some really bad things happen.
My current project, Retroscape of a Future Mind, is – as you might guess – more futuristic, as it takes a look back from the year 2065. The technology it depicts in that timeframe, however, still has its roots in current research. It is basically a look at one possible path in the evolution of our world where technology has had a much more insidious influence on humanity than we might hope. Yes, in the future, we learn even more ways to make bad things happen.
Q: What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has? Write it out here, then answer it.
A: The question: Do you mind if my book review group with 500 members reads your book? And by the way, we all love writing glowing reviews of everything we read. My answer: I guess that would be OK.
Actually, I did have someone post on FaceBook that she was going to recommend my book to her reading group – number of members not indicated – but nothing ever happened as far as I could tell. So, all you folks who coordinate reading groups, my email inbox is always open.
Q: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
A: All of the most recent information on the status of my writing, my book reviews, and the synopses of my current and upcoming books are located on my blog.
Blog: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010685952979
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J1KKTZ6
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14422947.Bruce_M_Perrin
Book Links
Half A Mind: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/p/half-mind-dark-scientific-thriller_25.html
Mind in the Clouds: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/p/a-suspenseful-whodunit-where-not-all.html
Retroscape of a Future Mind: http://brucemperrin.blogspot.com/p/retroscape-of-future-mind.html
